


Follow Up

by Joycee



Series: Sick [2]
Category: White Collar
Genre: Doctors & Physicians, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Surgery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-03
Updated: 2015-12-03
Packaged: 2018-05-04 13:17:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5335502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joycee/pseuds/Joycee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Neal has surgery just in time after being misdiagnosed by Peter's family doctor. After Peter confronts her, she tries to harm Neal while he is recovering in the hospital.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Follow Up

**Author's Note:**

> _This is a follow up to my story Flare Up._
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> Thanks to Caseylf123 for the suggestion.  
> http://archiveofourown.org/users/Caseylf123/pseuds/Caseylf123

Neal was finally brought to the recovery room after a long abdominal surgery for a ruptured appendix with peritonitis. He had suffered many hours of severe pain and illness before Peter finally got to him to the hospital emergency department in an ambulance. Neal had nearly died because Peter's family physician, Dr. Ellen Ellis, had misdiagnosed him as having the flu and tried to treat him with antibiotics, pain medicine, and antiemetic suppositories.

Neal's surgeon, Dr. Susan Sawyer, an attractive and confident woman, stepped into the waiting room to discuss Neal's condition with Peter. She told him, "We had a tough time since he had so much infection in his abdomen, but we got it all cleaned out. He is going to be in a lot of pain for some time yet, but of course, we'll try to keep him comfortable with narcotic pain medication. We will have to continue to treat him with IV antibiotics for the next ten days."

"But he's going to be okay?" Peter asked anxiously. "I mean he'll have a total recovery, won't he?"

Dr. Sawyer gave him an understanding smile. "Yes, he should be fine once he recovers completely from the surgery and the infection. It's lucky he got here in time."

Peter frowned, "Doctor, I didn't bring him to the hospital right away because my family doctor, Dr. Ellis, misdiagnosed him as having the flu."

"Yes, Dr. Chan from the Emergency Department mentioned that to me. It's troubling. Maybe you can tell me the details some time later. Right now, I need to get back to surgery." Dr. Sawyer said.

"Oh, of course. Doctor, can I go in to see Neal now?" Peter asked anxiously.

Dr. Sawyer smiled, "He's not awake yet. I'll let the Recovery Room staff know that you want to see him. They'll probably agree to let you see him for a minute or two. Once he's fully awake, he'll go back to his room on the Surgery floor. You'll be able to spend some time with him there."

"But he's out of danger now?" Peter persisted worriedly. "You're sure?"

"As sure as anyone can be. There is no reason he shouldn't have a successful recovery, barring any late complications. Now I really have to go, Agent Burke," she told him.

Peter walked over to tell Elizabeth and Mozzie what the doctor told him. He said, "I want to stay here and see Neal as soon as he wakes up, but you two might as well go home for awhile. It sounds like it will be some time before he can have regular visiting hours."

"As long as he's going to be alright, I guess that would be okay," said El. "I can come back and relieve you after while when he's ready for more company."

Mozzie agreed fiercely, "We're not going to leave him alone in here! The medical industrial complex has already made one mistake which almost cost him his life. They're not going to get a chance to make another one."

Peter chuckled, "Mozzie, he's going to have to stay here for ten days. We may not be able to stay with him every minute."

"We will even if you have to assign undercover agents as orderlies and nurses, Suit. You owe it to him to keep him safe," Mozzie insisted.

Peter placated him, "Okay, you're right, Mozzie. We won't let anything happen to him here in the hospital. I'll let you know when you can come back and visit him."

He smiled and shook his head as Mozzie went off down the hall, still railing about the evils of doctors and hospitals to a very patient El. Still, he thought to himself, he wanted to know more about how Dr. Ellis had made such an egregious error. 

He had trusted her with Neal's life and her mistake could have caused him to lose Neal. As it was, she had caused Neal to have a lot more pain and suffering than he should have, Peter thought angrily.

Peter's thoughts were interrupted by a nurse calling him to come into the Recovery Room to see Neal. He winced to see how pale and weak Neal looked lying there on a stretcher without a sheet with tubes running into and out of him.

Neal's eyelids fluttered when Peter gently took his hand. He smiled up at him and whispered sleepily, "Hi Peter. I'm glad you're here."

Peter smiled lovingly and said, "Hey Buddy, how do you feel?"

Neal sighed, "Like I've been run over by a truck. No, wait, this is worse than when I was run over by a truck."

Peter smiled, "Only you would actually know that, Neal. Most people don't have a lot of experience with being hit by a truck."

Neal tried to laugh and coughed and writhed in pain instead. A nurse came over and told Peter he needed to go so Neal could rest. Neal pouted but then closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep, so Peter went to find the room they would be transferring him to.

When he got upstairs, Peter was told that it would still be a couple of more hours before Neal would be brought up from the Recovery Room. He decided he had time to go pay a visit to Dr. Ellis to see how she explained her mistake.

Peter tried to keep a lid on his temper, but he was still feeling upset when he arrived at the doctor's office. The receptionist told him Dr. Ellis was busy, but Peter flashed his badge and insisted that she tell Dr. Ellis he was there.

In a minute, Dr. Ellis came into the waiting room and beckoned for Peter to follow her to her office. Peter started by asking her if she knew that Neal was in the hospital for a ruptured appendix. She replied nervously, "Yes, Dr. Chan called me from the Emergency Department and told me."

"So can you explain to me how you continued to advise me to treat Neal for flu symptoms even after I called you back and described how sick he was? I understand he could have died if I hadn't gotten him to the hospital when I did," Peter asked impatiently.

"Well, I'm very glad you did. You have to understand, Agent Burke, when I saw Mr. Caffrey earlier in the day, he wasn't so sick. You brought him to me because of a superficial gunshot wound," the doctor said defensively.

"No, I brought him to you because he had severe abdominal pain, fever and vomiting. The gunshot wound had already been treated at the crime scene," corrected Peter.

"Well, perhaps we misunderstood each other. Perhaps I should have told you to take him to the hospital when you called back in the evening, but I honestly thought he had the flu and could make it through the night with nausea and pain control," Dr. Ellis admitted.

Peter glared at her. "Doctor, my wife suggested Neal might have appendicitis when I called her and told her what his symptoms were."

Dr. Ellis said uneasily, "Well, maybe you described his condition better to your wife."

Peter gave her an incredulous look and she tried to placate him. "Look, I'm sorry. I may have made a mistake, but it's extremely hard to diagnose a surgical abdomen over the phone. I had seen Mr. Caffrey a few hours before and I thought he was a healthy young man with a severe case of the flu. I treated him accordingly. You have to believe I meant him no harm."

The doctor seemed a little panicky so Peter trusted his instincts and asked quietly, "How often has something like this happened to you, Dr. Ellis? This isn't the first time, is it?"

A change came over the doctor as she coldly escorted him to the door, saying, "You get out of my office. You don't know anything. You're just trying to trap me. I'm a good doctor. You can't say I'm not."

Peter left but he was deeply concerned. As soon as he returned to the hospital, he called Jones and asked him to look up Dr. Ellis's records and see if there had been complaints or disciplinary actions or lawsuits against her.

The nurse on the surgical floor greeted him, "Oh, Agent Burke, I'm glad you're back. Mr. Caffrey's been asking for you since he got back to his room. I've given him his pain medication, but I'm afraid he won't rest until he sees you."

Peter hurried to follow her, suggesting, "You can call me Peter and he's Neal, Nurse."

The pretty blond nurse smiled, "I'm Cathy and I'll be Neal's primary nurse. You can talk to me about questions you may have about his care."

"Thanks, Cathy. I'd better get in there and see him now," Peter said anxiously.

Neal looked up wanly. Peter squeezed his hand and Neal squeezed back and didn't let go. Peter asked, "Are you in pain?" Neal nodded and a tear formed in his eye. 

Peter said quickly, "I'll get the nurse." But Neal continued to grip his hand and shook his head. "No, she just gave me pain medicine. I just need you to be here with me, Peter."

Peter smiled, "I'm here for as long as you need me. Can you relax a little bit now? Is there anything I can do to help?"

Neal gave him a weak smile and asked, "Could you just talk to me for a little while? I want to close my eyes, but I want to be able to hear you so I know you're still here."

Peter squeezed his hand and began to tell him about his visit to Dr. Ellis. He continued talking for a little while even after he thought Neal was asleep just in case he was still awake.

While Neal was sleeping, Peter called Jones to see if he'd found out anything about Dr. Ellis. Jones told him, "Yeah, I'll email a list to you, but she definitely has a record of complaints against her, several lawsuits settled out of court, and a warning letter from the State Board of Medicine."

Peter grimaced, "Wow. I had no idea. El and I have been going to her for a couple of years. She seemed nice and we assumed she knew what she was doing."

Jones replied, "I'm going to do a little more checking to see if I can find more information about these cases with complaints and lawsuits. Oh, and Peter, Diana said she'd ask Christie if she knows anything about her, too."

"Yeah, that's good. Thanks Jones. I'm going to talk to Neal's other doctors here, too, to see what they know about her," Peter added.

Neal moaned and Peter hurried to his side. He asked, "Are you in pain, Buddy? Is there anything I can do to help?"

Neal looked up at him helplessly and requested, "Help me turn over on my side?"

Peter smiled, "Sure. Easy now." He gently turned Neal on his side so he was facing him, taking care not to dislodge the drain coming from his abdomen. He joked, "You've still got a bunch of tubes in you. I guess we'll know you're getting better when they start taking some of them out."

Neal tried to smile. He said, "Whew, I know they're giving me plenty of pain medicine, but I'm still hurting."

Peter sympathized, "Your surgeon, Dr. Sawyer, said you would be sore because she had to do a lot of cleaning out of the infection in your abdomen. Neal, I sure wish I'd gotten you to the hospital before your appendix ruptured."

"Not your fault," Neal assured him. "I'm just glad you got me here. I've never been that sick in my life. It was scary."

"It sure was scary," Peter agreed. "Well, the main thing now is that you get a little better every day. Today will probably be the hardest."

Nurse Cathy came into the room and said, "We’re going to try to keep giving Neal enough pain medicine to keep him comfortable. Thanks for turning him on his side."

Neal groaned, "I feel sick to my stomach again. I think I might throw up."

Cathy told him, "No, we don't want that to happen. It might strain your stitches. I'm giving you some medicine to stop the nausea, too. You should feel the effects of both medications soon."

Neal sighed and relaxed as the relief rushed through his veins. He started to close his eyes, but he gripped Peter's hand and asked him, "Stay here with me? Don't leave, okay?"

Peter said gently, "I'm right here. You rest and let that medicine help you."

Neal nodded and went back to sleep. Cathy told Peter, "It's fine if he sleeps most of the time today. Tomorrow we'll need to do some deep breathing therapy to keep his lungs clear and in another day or two, we'll get him up into a chair, and after that, he can start to walk a little bit."

"Will you be able to keep his pain under control?" Peter worried. Cathy smiled, "Mostly, but he'll need some encouragement. Honestly, some of the things I just mentioned will cause him some pain at first, even with the medications."

Peter asked her, "Cathy, do you have a minute to talk to me? I'd like to ask you some questions about Dr. Ellis."

Cathy looked alarmed. "Dr. Ellen Ellis? What does she have to do with this case?"

Peter explained how her failure to correctly diagnose and treat Neal had caused them to delay getting treatment until after Neal's appendix had ruptured and he was deathly ill from peritonitis. Cathy nodded gravely and told him, "I have a few more things to do before my shift is over. Can I talk to you when I get off in about a half an hour?"

"Sure," Peter offered, "I'll buy you a cup of coffee." Cathy nodded, "It might be a good idea for us to meet in the coffee shop downstairs."

Peter called El and asked her if she could come sit with Neal for awhile. She informed him that she and Mozzie had been working on a schedule where, including June, they could all take shifts so Neal wouldn't be left alone.

Peter chuckled, "Leave it to you to get everything organized, Hon. That's great. If we need a little relief, I can ask Diana and Jones if they can take some shifts, too."

"All right, I'll come over now and let Mozzie know to come this evening," El suggested.

"Okay, I'd like to be the one to stay with him tonight, though. He feels safer if he knows I'm here while he's sleeping," Peter told her.

When El got there, she stroked Neal's hair and he woke up and gave her a sweet smile. He took her hand and greeted her, "Elizabeth. Thanks for coming."

She joked, "You look cute with a tube in your nose." He giggled carefully with a hand over his wound and replied, "I've got tubes in some other interesting places, too."

Peter laughed at the two of them. He knew El would be good company for Neal and cheer him up. He excused himself to go meet Nurse Cathy downstairs, but he assured Neal that he would be back to spend the night shift with him.

Cathy was waiting nervously when Peter got there. She said, "I really don't know how much I should tell you, but Dr. Ellis is bad news."

"Why do you say that?" asked Peter. "Has she made a lot of mistakes in the past?"

Cathy sighed, "I don't know how she got through med school and passed the board exams. She's just not competent."

"How does she get away with it? Isn't there anything that can be done?" Peter inquired anxiously.

"Well, doctors are very reluctant to discipline one of their own, even when they know there's a problem. I understand several of her patients have sued her, but she settled with them out of court. I guess her malpractice insurance would rather pay them off than take a weak case to court," Cathy elaborated.

"I guess that explains why doctors' malpractice insurance is so expensive," Peter speculated.

"What's worse is that a few bad docs account for most of the payouts but everyone's premiums go up. It's not fair," Cathy complained.

"Well, what do you think Neal should do? Would it do any good to file some kind of complaint?" asked Peter.

Cathy looked nervously around the room. She answered, "It might, but look, please don't tell anyone I suggested it. It will just get me in trouble."

Peter smiled at her and thanked her for being honest with him. He promised not to reveal their conversation to anyone else. Cathy looked relieved. She suggested he go ahead and try to talk to Dr. Chan and Dr. Sawyer, though, to get their opinions.

Peter walked down to the Emergency Department but Dr. Chan wasn't on duty. He decided to go home and get some rest before coming back to spend the night with Neal.

When Peter returned to the hospital, El was still there sleeping in a chair next to Neal's bed. Peter kissed her lightly to wake her up. She stretched and greeted him with surprise, "Oh, I guess I must have fallen asleep. Mozzie was supposed to be here. Wonder what happened to him."

Peter questioned, "Are you sure he understood your schedule? Did he know I'd be staying tonight?"

Neal called to him, "Peter? Are you here?" Peter took his hand and said, "Hey, Buddy. I'm here. How are you doing? Do you need anything?"

Neal looked confused and said, "Peter? I thought I saw Dr. Ellis here."

"You must have been dreaming, Neal. Dr. Ellis wouldn't come here, and anyway, El has been sitting here with you. You didn't see Dr. Ellis, did you, Hon?" Peter questioned.

El looked worried and responded, "No, I didn't, but apparently I was asleep for awhile. I wonder what would make her come here. Maybe she felt guilty and just wanted to see that Neal was all right."

Peter asked Neal, "Are you sure you saw her? Did she say anything to you?"

Neal shook his head and groaned, "Not sure." He tried awkwardly to turn himself in the bed and Peter reached over and assisted him to get comfortable. He asked El, "When was the last time he got pain medicine?"

She replied, "A couple of hours ago, I think, but now they are putting some in that little IV bottle and he can give some to himself when he needs it by squeezing the button on the tube. Remember, Neal?"

Peter asked Neal, "Have you been using this to give yourself medicine?"

Neal grimaced and shook his head. He said, "I forgot about it. Let me try it now."

Peter handed him the button and Neal pressed it. He relaxed and sighed, "That's better. I can feel it now."

"Well, try not to forget about it again. I'll remind you while I'm here," Peter suggested.

El gave them each a kiss good night and left to go home. Peter settled in to sit by Neal and work on some on files while he slept, but Neal wanted to talk. 

Neal asked, "Did you go see Dr. Ellis? Do you think maybe that's why she came here?"

Peter considered, "I did go talk to her and she was very defensive. I asked Jones to check her record and he found quite a few complaints against her. I asked Nurse Cathy about her and she said Dr. Ellis is bad news. I don't want her coming around here. I don't trust her."

"I don't either," Neal shivered. "Elizabeth is good company but I feel safer with you here." 

Peter reached over and took Neal's hand again. He assured him, "I'm going to keep you safe. You just concentrate on healing."

Neal closed his eyes gratefully and murmured, "I know you will. Sorry Peter. I'm a lot of trouble."

Peter protested, "No, no you're not. I feel bad enough that I didn't get you to the hospital sooner so you wouldn't have had to go through such a big operation. I'm committed to getting you well and out of here as soon as possible. Then you can come and stay with El and me until you're fully recovered."

Neal didn't answer and Peter realized he was asleep. He turned on a reading lamp and started to work to on his files. He had napped at home so he wasn't sleepy.

The night nurse came in to check on Neal and introduced herself as Nancy. She uncovered Neal and examined his dressing and emptied his drains. She checked his vital signs and changed the IV bottle, making notes on a chart on a clipboard at the end of the bed.

She gently repositioned Neal so he would be more comfortable. Finally, she disconnected his self-administered pain medication while he was sleeping. She told Peter, "Be sure to call me if he needs more medication during the night and I'll bring it to him. Otherwise, I'll be back in a few hours."

Peter told her, "I'm going to stay right here with him. Do you know if Dr. Ellis ever comes on this floor? Does she have any patients up here?"

"Dr. Ellis? No, she's not a surgeon so we don't usually see her. I suppose she might check on a patient of hers once in a while. Why? Is she Neal's doctor?" Nancy asked.

Peter shook his head, "She saw him before he came into the hospital, but she has no business with him now. Neal thought he saw her earlier."

"Well, nobody mentioned it to me and she didn't leave a note on his chart. He's under a lot of medication so he could have been mistaken," Nancy reminded him.

"Yes, that's true, but I've learned never to discount Neal's observations. Anyway, please let me know if she shows up here. I don't want her anywhere near him," Peter said vehemently.

Nancy looked surprised at his intensity and agreed, "Okay. I can make a note on his chart that you don't want her to see him, too."

"Thanks," Peter said and relaxed a little bit. "I didn't mean to be so demanding. I just don't trust Dr. Ellis and neither does Neal."

"it's okay. I don't blame you," said Nancy sympathetically. "Now I've got to get going. We're understaffed as usual and I have a lot of other patients to tend to. Let me know if Neal needs anything."

After she left, Peter had a hard time concentrating on his work. He kept wondering if Neal had really seen Dr. Ellis there and, if he had, why she had come. He felt very uneasy about it and he decided to pursue his investigation of her.

Neal rested fairly peacefully for most of the night. In the morning, he seemed to have more color in his complexion. A nurses aide gave him a quick bed bath and changed his sheets. Cathy started him back on the self-administered pain medicine drip. 

Mozzie strolled in and greeted Neal with enthusiasm. His energy was contagious and Neal was obviously glad to see him. Peter went home to get some sleep before going in to his office. Before he left, he gave Neal a kiss and told him he loved him.

When Peter got to the office, Diana and Jones were waiting for him. They suggested a meeting with the team in the conference room. Diana took charge and projected a photo of Dr. Ellen Ellis onto the screen for everyone to see. She nodded at Jones.

Jones began, "I looked into Dr. Ellis's records yesterday and discovered that she had a significant history of complaints and lawsuits against her. When I looked further, I found some very disturbing things."

Peter interrupted, "I talked to the nurse in charge of Neal's care and she had a very low opinion of Dr. Ellis, but she said doctors are hesitant to report each other. Neal thought he might have seen Dr. Ellis come into his room last evening while El was napping."

Jones continued, "The first thing I discovered was there are some disturbing inconsistencies in her personal documents. The more I looked, the more convinced I became that Dr. Ellis is not who she says she is."

"What?!" exclaimed Peter. "What do you mean? She's been my family doctor for a couple of years."

Diana put up a photo of another woman who looked remarkably similar to Dr. Ellis. She explained, "Clinton brought his findings to me and, with Christie's help, we were able to discover that this is the real Ellen Ellis, who disappeared suspiciously during medical school."

"Are you saying our Dr. Ellis is actually someone else impersonating this dead woman?" Peter asked incredulously.

Diana nodded, "We believe her real identity is this woman, Rachel Ellis." She put up yet another photo of a younger Dr. Ellis. "There were two women with the last name of Ellis in the same med school class. Ellen Ellis was an excellent student, but Rachel Ellis was kicked out of the program because of poor grades and questionable ethical behavior."

Jones continued, "It looks like Rachel managed to assume Ellen's identity after Ellen's mysterious disappearance."

Peter asked, "Was there foul play involved in Ellen's disappearance?"

Diana said, "It wasn't ruled out, but a body was never found. After Rachel dropped out, 'Ellen' mysteriously reappeared with a story about an automobile accident and amnesia. She was allowed to make up her work and go on to graduate from med school with honors."

"So you believe Rachel Ellis has been posing as Ellen Ellis ever since then. That would make her a prime suspect in Ellen's disappearance," concluded Peter.

Jones told him, "We don't know if she had anything to do with it or just took advantage of the circumstances. But, Peter, there is something even more disturbing."

Peter looked distressed. He asked, "What? How can it get any worse?"

Diana said softly, "Boss, we believe the current Dr. Ellis has a pattern of getting rid of her mistakes. Several of the patients who made complaints against her died before they could file lawsuits. The ones who did file and win their lawsuits have met with serious accidents afterwards."

Peter's eyes widened and he exclaimed excitedly, "Oh no! Neal! We have to protect him. He thought saw he saw Dr. Ellis in his room his last night. She must have been surprised to find El there so she couldn't get away with anything then, but she's sure to come back and try again."

Jones apologized, "We didn't know she'd already tried to make a move on Neal. I'll go over to the hospital right away and set up a round the clock security detail."

Peter agreed gratefully, "Yes, I'll stay here and get the rest of the details from Diana and then I'll join you at the hospital. I don't suppose we have enough evidence to go ahead and pick Dr. Ellis up. Can we get a warrant to search her office and her home?"

Diana said, "Come on, Boss. I'll show you everything we have so far, but I'm afraid it's still a lot of unproven speculation."

Peter was looking at the information that Diana and Jones had collected, growing more concerned every minute, when he got a call from Jones at the hospital. Jones said tersely, "Sorry to bother you, Peter, but I think you'd better come to the hospital now. We're having a problem."

"I'll be right there," Peter committed, without even asking what the problem was. He asked Diana to continue following up leads on the information they had. 

Jones met Peter at the elevator when he arrived on the Surgery floor. He grimly beckoned for Peter to follow him to Neal's room. To Peter's surprise, the door to Neal's room was closed and locked.

Peter asked anxiously, "Who is in there with Neal?" Jones sighed, "Mozzie. He won't let anyone in."

Peter rolled his eyes. He knocked the on the door and called out, "Mozzie, it's Peter. What's going on? Open the door and let me in."

The door cracked open and Mozzie peeked out. He commanded, "Suit, come in. Everyone else stay out."

Peter cautiously entered the room with his hand on his gun just in case. He looked around but didn't see anyone except Mozzie and Neal, who appeared to be unconscious. Peter asked angrily, "Mozzie, what's going on here? Is Neal all right?"

"Thanks to me, he is, Suit," Mozzie retorted sharply. "Your Dr. Ellis sneaked in here and tried to inject something into Neal's IV line, but I caught her. Unfortunately, she took advantage of her taller stature and pushed me aside so she could make her escape."

"She's not my Dr. Ellis," Peter protested. "Did she succeed in injecting something into Neal's IV line? Is he okay?"

Mozzie said proudly, "I was able to knock to the syringe away from her. It's still there on the floor where she dropped it."

Peter persisted, "Then why is Neal unconscious? Are you sure nothing was injected?"

"I just pressed the button to administer a dose of his pain medicine. He's just sleeping," Mozzie said impatiently. "What are you going to do about the syringe and the deranged doctor? That's what I want to know."

Peter asked curiously, "Why did you lock Jones out of the room, Mozzie. If you had told him all this, maybe he could have caught Dr. Ellis before she got out of the hospital."

Mozzie harrumphed, "Nobody would have believed me. I didn't want to take a chance on anyone coming in before you got here and I could enlighten you about what's going on."

Peter said sharply, "Believe it or not, Jones and Diana had already discovered that Dr. Ellis was dangerous. Jones came over here to protect Neal while Diana finished showing me what they found. The FBI is not as incompetent as you seem to think we are."

Their raised voices finally disturbed Neal who looked confused and upset. He asked, "What are you talking about? Dr. Ellis is dangerous? She was here, Peter. She started to inject something into my IV. Mozz stopped her."

Peter nodded. He bent down and carefully used his handkerchief to pick up the dropped syringe. He called Jones in to take it to the lab to first get the contents analyzed and then get the barrel fingerprinted. Jones looked cautiously at Mozzie as he entered the room.

Neal was begging, "Peter, please. Tell me what's going on. What is all this about Dr. Ellis? Why would she want to hurt me?"

By this time, the nurses had called Dr. Sawyer and hospital security, who were also demanding explanations. Mozzie slunk out of the room. "Um, I'll just slip out now and let you handle it. I like to keep a low profile. Take good care of Neal and don't let anything happen to him while I'm not here," he warned.

Peter got out his FBI credentials and showed them to the hospital security guards and then took command over the situation. He told Jones to go on and get the syringe analyzed. He asked Dr. Sawyer to examine Neal to be sure he was all right. 

He explained briefly to the security guards and the nurses that he believed there had been an attempted attack on Neal by Dr. Ellis. He refused to give any further explanation, explaining that the FBI was investigating the case.

When Dr. Sawyer verified that Neal was okay, she ordered the nurse to administer a small dose of sedative to keep him still since anxiety was causing him to tense up his abdominal muscles and move around in the bed more than he should. Peter asked if he could talk with her privately.

Dr. Sawyer answered irritably, "Yes, Agent Burke, I think an explanation is in order here. This is a hospital, not a circus. I don't appreciate my patient and his caregivers being upset like this."

Peter apologized. He made sure there was an FBI guard positioned outside Neal's door and accompanied Dr. Sawyer to a small doctor's lounge with a desk and a couple of chairs. Dr. Sawyer asked expectantly, "What's going on, Agent? What's this about Ellen Ellis trying to harm my patient?"

Peter asked, "Dr. Sawyer, first let me ask you how well you know Dr. Ellis and what you think of her."

She answered thoughtfully, "Well, I guess I've known her a couple of years. She's in Family Practice so she doesn't hospitalize a lot of patients, but she has referred patients to me for surgery. I thought she was your family physician. You must know her."

Peter answered slowly, "Well, my wife and I have only consulted her for minor illnesses. I have my annual physical done by the FBI. I think I told you that I was concerned that she had misdiagnosed Neal's appendicitis."

Dr. Sawyer looked puzzled. "But surely, she wouldn't try to harm him deliberately. Maybe your eccentric friend was mistaken. Maybe Ellen was just checking to see how Neal was doing?"

"Do you know if she's a good doctor? Ever heard any complaints about her?" Peter asked curiously.

"Well, I may have heard some rumors that she's occasionally made mistakes," Dr. Sawyer mused, "but I had no reason to think she was dangerous."

"Thank you, Dr. Sawyer," Peter concluded. "I'll be in touch if we need any further information from you. In the meantime, please take good care of Neal. I have reason to believe he is in danger. I want to get him well enough to take him out of the hospital as soon as possible. In the meantime, we will have a guard at his door around the clock."

"If there's any way I can help, let me know. I feel terrible about this," Dr. Sawyer offered.

"Thank you for your cooperation," Peter told her. "Just take care of Neal. That's what I need you to do. And let me know if Dr. Ellis contacts you or if you see her around the hospital."

Peter walked back to Neal's room to see if the sedative Dr. Sawyer ordered was working. He didn't want Neal worrying about anything except getting well. When he walked in, Neal was squirming around miserably in the bed and moaning. Peter hurried over to him and caught his arm.

He tried to comfort him, "Whoa, whoa, Buddy. Take it easy. What's the matter, Buddy?"

Neal looked up with dazed blue eyes and murmured, "Peter? Peter, are you here? Help me."

Peter was immediately alarmed. He asked, "What's wrong, Neal? I'm here with you. Calm down and tell me what's the matter."

"Don't know," Neal moaned mournfully. "Something's not right. I'm hurting. Feel like I'm going to puke. Help me."

"Okay, okay. Hang on. Here's a basin you can throw up in if you need to." Peter pushed the nurse call button and was relieved when Cathy showed up. He quickly told her what Neal just said.

Cathy frowned and checked Neal's pulse and blood pressure. She took his temperature and then told Peter, "Call Dr. Sawyer. Neal's fever is back and his pulse is slow and his blood pressure is very low. I need her to examine him right away."

She opened up the IV line to let more fluid run in. She asked Neal, "When did you start feeling bad?" But Neal was becoming incoherent. Cathy grabbed the clipboard at the bottom of his bed to check for any changes in information. 

Dr. Sawyer rushed in and asked, "What happened now?" Cathy showed her the clipboard and she gasped, "Who ordered this medication for him?"

Peter was immediately alarmed. He asked sharply, "What medication? Aren't you the only one writing orders for Neal?"

Dr. Sawyer worried, "Yes, I should be, but this order was not written by me."

"What is the order for, Doctor?" Peter asked fearfully. Dr. Sawyer responded, "It's for digoxin, a heart medicine that is totally not indicated in Neal's case. No wonder he feels sick."

"What can you do?" Peter fired questions rapidly as he tried to comprehend the situation. "Who ordered it? And who gave it to him? How long has it been in his system?"

Cathy and Dr. Sawyer both looked at him, their faces clouded with concern and confusion. The doctor admitted, "I don't know. Didn't you say your friend stopped Dr. Ellis from administering any medication to Neal? Who else has been in here, Cathy?"

Peter quickly asked the guard he'd left at Neal's door if anyone had been in to see Neal and he said innocently, "Only a nurse who gave him a shot and a doctor who said she needed to check on him. It was a Dr. Ellis. She said she's his family physician."

Peter's heart sank. He realized that he had not considered that Dr. Ellis might still be around to try to get to Neal again right away. When he put the guard at the door, he didn't think to warn him against medical personnel. He should have told him to check before he let anyone in the room no matter who they said they were.

He asked the doctor, "If he did receive that drug, what can you do now? Is there a treatment?"

Dr Sawyer sighed, "First we'll need to get some blood levels analyzed immediately. Then we'll know if we need to give him an antidote. In the meantime, he needs lots of supportive care. I'd like to move him to the Intensive Care Unit immediately."

Neal looked wild eyed and tried to sit up. He called, "Peter, where are you? Something's wrong. I'm sick and dizzy. Hurt all over. Can't see. Everything's blurry, yellow. Help me, Peter."

Peter's heart lurched into his throat and he felt panicked. He took a deep breath and closed his hand around Neal's bicep. He stroked his face as calmly as he could with his other hand and said soothingly, "I'm here, Neal. It's going to be okay. Dr. Sawyer is going to take care of you. You're going to be all right. I won't leave. I'll stay right here with you, okay?"

Neal visibly calmed down and nodded, "Okay, Peter. I trust you. Don't leave me."

Seeing Neal's glazed eyes and disheveled condition made Peter feel like a failure. He had been unable to protect him. Now everything must be done to save him and make him comfortable again so he could heal from his operation. Peter calmed himself and determined that he would do anything to get Neal through this.

Neal had pulled the IV loose from his arm while he was struggling. As soon as they got him into the ICU, a nurse drew several tubes of blood and then restarted his IV in a large vein. Another nurse applied EKG leads and an automatic blood pressure cuff. 

Neal vomited and was immediately given medication through his IV. The nurses cleaned him up and checked and reinforced the bandage over his surgical incision. A respiratory therapist started him on oxygen therapy by mask.

Peter tried to stay near Neal without getting in the way. Neal had a vice grip on Peter's hand. Considering the unusual circumstances, no one objected to Peter being there.

Dr. Sawyer call an internist for consultation. They analyzed the electrocardiograph and the blood test results as soon as they came in. They ordered medications to control Neal's cardiac dysrhythmias and electrolyte imbalances. When the digoxin level in his blood came back very high, they administered the antidote Digibind to counteract its toxic effects.

Peter was overwhelmed by the whirlwind of professional activity and rapid bursts of medical jargon that he couldn't follow. He told himself the doctors knew what they were doing. He had to trust them. Peter continued to gently massage Neal's hand to let him know he was still there. Peter understood how terrified Neal must be.

Finally, Neal was stabilized and resting comfortably. Peter stayed with him until he was assured by the nurses that Neal would not wake up for quite awhile. They promised to call Peter as soon as Neal was awake again.

Peter hurried away from the ICU to find Jones and Diana, who were waiting in the lobby for him. They immediately besieged him with concerned questions about Neal's condition. Once he had reassured them, they began to fill Peter in on what they had been able to discover. 

The syringe that Peter had picked up from under the bed contained a dose of potassium, which would have been lethal when combined with digoxin. Dr. Ellis had written an order in Neal's chart for the digoxin and an unsuspecting nurse had given it to him. Without the potassium, the dose was toxic but, as Peter had just seen, reversible with prompt treatment.

Dr. Ellis's fingerprints were found on the dropped syringe and the doctor's notes where she had written the digoxin order. Now the question was how to find her. Peter regretted not searching for her immediately after Mozzie scared her away, but he had believed she had already escaped by that time.

Peter had a hunch and asked Jones and Diana to accompany him to Dr. Ellis's office. As he had correctly guessed, they found the doctor there packing up her office equipment. Peter knocked on the door while Jones guarded the back exit and Diana called for backup. 

Dr. Ellis opened the door and invited Peter into her office. Diana crept in quietly behind them. Peter confronted the doctor, "You nearly killed my friend Neal this afternoon."

Dr. Ellis asserted defiantly, "I don't know what you're talking about. You can't prove anything."

Peter told her, "Oh, but I can. Your prints are on the syringe full of potassium that you dropped and also on the doctors notes where you wrote an order for digoxin."

Dr. Ellis stared at Peter and said, "You think you're very smart, don't you, Agent Burke?"

Peter replied, "I think I'm smart enough to know that Neal isn't the first person you tried to kill? What happened to the real Ellen Ellis, Rachel? Was she the first person you killed?"

She looked up in surprise and growled, "What else do you think you know, Agent?"

"That you failed in medical school and impersonated Ellen after you disposed of her. That you have a habit of killing the victims of your incompetent errors so they can't sue you, although you weren't able to stop all of them," Peter accused.

"You have no idea what it's like," she pleaded. "After you have a couple malpractice suits on your records, insurance wants to drop you. Hospitals want to take your privileges away. If patients find out, they don't want to come to you."

"So instead of admitting that you are a dangerous fraud, you tried to keep anyone from finding out. Well, the game is over now!" Peter said bitterly.

Dr. Ellis edged around her desk and started to open a drawer. She smiled, "You're not as smart as you think you are or you wouldn't have come here alone."

"Maybe I didn't," Peter smiled back as she reached into the drawer.

Diana jumped out and shouted, "Freeze. Don't try it." She quickly grabbed the surprised woman's wrist and twisted it so she dropped the gun she was holding. "FBI. You are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent...."

As Diana continued informing the doctor of her rights, Peter shook his head. It was hard to believe he and El had once trusted this perverted person to be their primary medical care provider. Peter guiltily regretted ever bringing Neal to her, even though he realized he had no way of knowing she was a fraud at that time.

Jones and Diana took their prisoner back to the FBI office. They intended to interrogate her to see how much of her life of crime she would confess to. Peter drove back to the hospital, relieved to be able to concentrate on Neal without worrying about further harm coming to him.

Peter called El to update her and she offered to come to the hospital to keep him company. The ICU tried to be accommodating in letting Peter visit Neal as much as possible. Neal mercifully slept most of the night and Peter napped in the waiting room.

In the morning, Peter called his office and found out from Diana that Rachel Ellis had admitted to abducting and poisoning Ellen Ellis and then taking her place in medical school. She also confessed to a couple of the other cases they suspected she was involved in, but at some point she insisted on calling an attorney who promptly advised her not to say another word.

Peter was sorry to hear that they weren't able to get her to admit to attempting to kill Neal, but she had as good as admitted it to him the night before. He felt sure they had enough evidence for the prosecutor to convict her. Mostly, he was relieved that she was no longer a threat to Neal while he recovered.

Neal was able to be moved back to his regular room on the Surgery floor the next day. Peter spent much of the day briefing Nurse Cathy and Dr. Sawyer and the hospital administrator about Dr. Ellis's deception and criminal history. They were shocked to discover how easily she had gotten away with it. 

Peter suggested to the hospital administrator and the chief of the medical staff that they should be more willing to listen to complaints about a doctor's performance and take disciplinary action against them when it was appropriate. 

He pointed out, "A number of nurses and doctors here were aware that Dr. Ellis was not competent, yet they hesitated to speak up. My wife and I, as well as Neal Caffrey and other unsuspecting patients, were put at risk because no one was willing to confront the situation."

The Chief of Medicine objected, "We could hardly have been expected to know that Dr. Ellis wasn't who she said was. After all, she succeeded in changing her identity while she was in medical school."

Peter reminded him, "But you were aware of her performance problems. You knew about the numerous complaints and lawsuits against her and yet you took no action."

The Hospital Administrator said dejectedly, "I suppose Mr. Caffrey will be filing a lawsuit against us for the harm that came to him while he was in our care."

Peter's eyes glinted wickedly as he informed them, "I'll tell his attorney, Mr. Dante Haversham, to contact you."

Later when an irate Mozzie confronted Peter about not protecting Neal sufficiently, Peter used that bit of information to placate him. Mozzie immediately began to work on the wording of the charges he planned to bring against the hospital on Neal's behalf.

When Neal heard the story, he laughed while carefully holding his hand over his incision. He teased Peter, "Hey, maybe I'll get rich legitimately by the time Mozzie wrings a settlement out of them."

Peter added, "After Mozzie takes his own generous cut, of course." 

Then his soft brown eyes filled with tears and he told Neal, "I don't know how much money is enough to compensate you for what you've suffered through, Neal, but I know your life is worth more than all the money in the world to me."

Neal's bright blue eyes glistened as he replied softly, "I love you, too, Peter."

Peter asked fondly, "Would it hurt if I kissed you?

Neal giggled, "Never, lover."

**Author's Note:**

> Digitalis Toxicity:  
> http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/154336-overview
> 
> The doctors in this story are entirely fictional characters.
> 
> The White Collar characters were created by Jeff Eastin for the series on USA TV.


End file.
